Autonomous coverage vacuum cleaner having edge cleaning head easy to install and uninstall

ABSTRACT

An autonomous coverage vacuum cleaner includes a transmission element driven to rotate and disposed at the bottom of a body, and an edge cleaning head. The transmission element has a lower surface, a positioning recess denting upward from the lower surface and having a non-circular inner profile, and a fixing hole disposed in the positioning recess. The edge cleaning head includes a body, at least a brush extending from the body, a positioning block disposed on the body, and resilient elements extending upward from the positioning block. An outer profile of the positioning block corresponds in shape to the inner profile of the positioning recess. Under an applied force, the resilient elements deform resiliently, get closer to each other, and engage with the fixing holes. The positioning block engages with the positioning recess of the transmission element, such that the transmission elements drive the edge cleaning head to rotate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to autonomous coverage vacuum cleaners,and more particularly, to an autonomous coverage vacuum cleaner havingan edge cleaning head easy to install and uninstall.

2. Description of Related. Art

During its autonomous journey, a conventional autonomous coverage vacuumcleaner gathers dust and debris from the floor with a cleaning rollerdisposed at its bottom and rotating about an axle mounted on the bottomand positioned parallel to the floor, wherein the dust and debris issucked into a vacuum cleaning apparatus and then collected by adust-collecting apparatus.

With the cleaning roller being positioned at the center of the bottom ofthe autonomous coverage vacuum cleaner, the autonomous coverage vacuumcleaner is incapable of reaching the corners and the wall-adjoiningportions of the floor. In attempt to overcome the aforesaid drawbacks ofthe prior art, at least an edge cleaning head is disposed at the bottomof the conventional autonomous coverage vacuum cleaner. For example,US2010/0037418 provides an autonomous coverage vacuum cleaner which hasan edge cleaning head rotating about an axle substantially perpendicularto the floor, wherein some of the bristles of the edge cleaning headstick out of the periphery of a body of the autonomous coverage vacuumcleaner, such that dust and debris otherwise found at the periphery ofthe body is swept into the bottom of the body and collected by thevacuum cleaning apparatus. Therefore, the autonomous coverage vacuumcleaner can clean the corners and the wall-adjoining portions of thefloor.

However, it is usually difficult to uninstall the edge cleaning head ofthe conventional autonomous coverage vacuum cleaner. For example, asregards the autonomous coverage vacuum cleaner of US2010/0037418, theedge cleaning head, a transmission gear train, and a motor are puttogether and then collectively placed on the bottom of the body of theautonomous coverage vacuum cleaner. As a result, a user cannot dismountjust the edge cleaning head; instead, the user has to dismount the edgecleaning head, the transmission gear train, and the motor altogether andthen separate the edge cleaning head from the motor and the transmissiongear train. As a result, it is inconvenient for the user to clean theedge cleaning head or change the edge cleaning head.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the aforesaid drawbacks of the prior art, it is an objectiveof the present invention to provide an autonomous coverage vacuumcleaner with an edge cleaning head easy to install and uninstall.

In order to achieve the above and other objectives, the presentinvention provides an autonomous coverage vacuum cleaner having an edgecleaning head easy to install and uninstall. The autonomous coveragevacuum cleaner comprises: a body; a transmission element driven torotate and disposed at a bottom of the body; and an edge cleaning head.The transmission element has a lower surface, a positioning recessdenting upward from the lower surface, and a fixing hole disposed in thepositioning recess, wherein an inner profile of the positioning recessis non-circular. The edge cleaning head comprises a body, at least abrush extending from the body, a positioning block disposed on top ofthe body, and a plurality of resilient elements extending upward fromthe positioning block, wherein an outer profile of the positioning blockcorresponds in shape to the inner profile of the positioning recess ofthe transmission element, wherein, under an applied force, the resilientelements deform resiliently, get closer to each other, and engage withfixing holes of the transmission element, respectively, wherein thepositioning block engages with the positioning recess of thetransmission element, such that the transmission element drives the edgecleaning head to rotate.

Accordingly, all a user needs to do is to push the resilient elements ofthe edge cleaning head into fixing holes of the transmission element,such that the resilient elements deform resiliently under the thrustgiven by the transmission element and engage with the fixing holes.Furthermore, the user pulls the edge cleaning head outward to allow theresilient elements to deform resiliently once again under the thrustgiven by the transmission element and thereby exit the fixing holes.Hence, the user can install and uninstall the edge cleaning head easilyand change or clean the edge cleaning head.

Detailed structures, features, assembly, and operation of an autonomouscoverage vacuum cleaner having an edge cleaning head easy to install anduninstall, as disclosed in the present invention, are illustrated withembodiments hereunder. However, persons skilled in the art are able tounderstand that the detailed description and specific embodiments beloware illustrative of the present invention, rather than restrictive ofthe claims of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an autonomous coverage vacuumcleaner having an edge cleaning head easy to install and uninstallaccording to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the autonomous coverage vacuum cleaner havingan edge cleaning head easy to install and uninstall according to thefirst preferred embodiment of the present invention, wherein the diagramomits the two edge cleaning heads which are otherwise essentialtechnical features of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an edge cleaning head and atransmission element of the autonomous coverage vacuum cleaner havingthe edge cleaning head easy to install and uninstall according to thefirst preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a top view of an edge cleaning head of the autonomous coveragevacuum cleaner having the edge cleaning head easy to install anduninstall according to the first preferred embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 5 is a top view of an edge cleaning head of an autonomous coveragevacuum cleaner having the edge cleaning head easy to install anduninstall according to a second preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The technical solution and features of the present invention arehereunder illustrated with specific embodiments in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, in a first preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, an autonomous coverage vacuum cleaner 10 comprises: abody 20; a dust-sucking and dust-collecting apparatus 30 disposed at thebottom of the body 20; two cleaning rollers 40 which flank thedust-sucking and dust-collecting apparatus 30; two transmission elements50 positioned proximate to a periphery 21 of the body 20; and two edgecleaning heads 60 mountable on and demountable from the two transmissionelements 50, respectively.

The body 20 moves across the floor automatically and is capable ofdetecting an obstacle and turning away from the obstacle automatically.The cleaning rollers 40 lift dust and debris from the floor while thebody 20 is moving across the floor; meanwhile, the dust-sucking anddust-collecting apparatus 30 sucks and collects the dust and debris. Theshape and structure of the body 20, the dust-sucking and dust-collectingapparatus 30, and the cleaning rollers 40 is similar to that of theirconventional counterparts and thus is not described in detail herein forthe sake of brevity.

Referring to FIG. 1 through FIG. 3, the transmission elements 50 areeach connected to a driving device (not shown) disposed inside the body20, so as to be driven by the driving device to rotate. The transmissionelements 50 each have a lower surface 52 substantially flush with abottom surface 22 of the body 20, a positioning recess 54 that dentsupward from the lower surface 52, and a fixing hole 56 disposed insidethe positioning recess 54. An inner profile 542 of the positioningrecess 54 is of a rectangular shape. The fixing hole 56 has therein aposition-limiting portion 562 protruding inward. The position-limitingportion 562 has a curved surface 562 a facing inward.

The edge cleaning heads 60 each comprise a body 70 (in this embodiment,the body 70 consists of two constituent elements or is integrally formedas a unitary structure) and four brushes 80. The body 70 has a centralportion 72 of a disc-like shape, a positioning block 74 extending upwardfrom an upper surface 722 of the central portion 72 and complementingthe positioning recess 54 of the transmission elements 50 in shape (forexample, as shown in FIG. 4, an outer profile 742 of the positioningblock 74 is rectangular in shape), two resilient elements 76 extendingupward from the positioning block 74, and four pins 78 extendingdownward, outward, and obliquely from the central portion 72. Theresilient elements 76 each have a body portion 762 extending upward fromthe positioning block 74, and a hook portion 764 disposed at the upperend of the body portion 762. The hook portion 764 has an inclinedsurface 764 a and a curved surface 764 b. The inclined surface 764 a isdisposed outward at the hook portion 764 and slopes downward andoutward. The curved surface 764 b is beneath the inclined surface 764 a.The pins 78 each have an upper section 782 and a lower section 784. Theupper section 782 extends from the central portion 72. The lower section784 extends from the upper section 782. The gradient of the uppersection 782 is larger than the gradient of the lower section 784. Thebrushes 80 extend from the lower sections 784 of the pins 78,respectively. Referring to the diagrams, each said brush 80 is simplydepicted by a rectangle. In practice, each said brush 80 consists of aplurality of bristles.

To install the edge cleaning heads 60, a user inserts the resilientelements 76 into the fixing holes 56 of the transmission elements 50,respectively, and allows the positioning blocks 74 to engage with thepositioning recesses 54, respectively. Specifically speaking, in thecourse of the insertion of the two resilient elements 76 into the fixingholes 56, respectively, the inclined surface 764 a and the curvedsurface 764 b of the hook portion 764 abut against the curved surface562 a of the position-limiting portion 562 in sequence, and, under thethrust given by the position-limiting portions 562, the two resilientelements 76 deform resiliently and get closer to each other, such thatthe hook portion 764 can pass the position-limiting portion 562 and thusbe confined to above the position-limiting portion 562; meanwhile, theedge cleaning heads 60 have already been engaged with the fixing holes56 of the transmission elements 50, respectively, and thus are unlikelyto detach. The upper surfaces 722 of the bodies 70 of the edge cleaningheads 60 abut against the lower surfaces 52 of the transmission elements50, respectively, to stop the user from pushing and pressing the edgecleaning heads 60 inward excessively.

Therefore, due to the engagement of the positioning block 74 and thepositioning recess 54, the transmission elements 50 are driven torotate, such that the rotating transmission elements 50 drive the edgecleaning heads 60 to rotate synchronously therewith, such that the dustand debris otherwise found outside the periphery 21 of the body 20 areswept into the space between the body 20 and the floor and then suckedand collected by the dust-sucking and dust-collecting apparatus 30.

To change or clean the edge cleaning heads 60, the user pulls the edgecleaning heads 60 outward, such that the curved surface 764 b and theinclined surface 764 a of each of the hook portions 764 of the resilientelements 76 abut against the curved surface 562 a of theposition-limiting portion 562 of each of the transmission elements 50 insequence, deform resiliently, get closer to each other, and exit thefixing holes 56. Hence, it is very easy to install and uninstall theedge cleaning heads 60 of the autonomous coverage vacuum cleaner 10, andthus the user can change or clean the edge cleaning heads 60conveniently.

In the above embodiments, the outer profile 742 of the positioning block74 of each of the edge cleaning heads 60 and the inner profile 542 ofthe positioning recess 54 of each of the transmission elements 50 arerectangular in shape to thereby effectuate the aforesaid synchronousrotation. However, the above embodiments are not restrictive of theshape of the positioning blocks 74 of the edge cleaning heads 60 and thepositioning recesses 54 of the transmission elements 50. For example,referring to FIG. 5, in a second preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, an outer profile 942 of a positioning block 94 of the edgecleaning head 90 is not rectangular in shape, as the aforesaidsynchronous rotation can be effectuated, provided that the inner profile542 of the positioning recess 54 of each of the transmission elements 50which match the edge cleaning heads 90 corresponds in shape to the outerprofile 942. In fact, the objectives of the present invention can beachieved, provided that the outer profile 942 of the positioning block94 of the edge cleaning head 90 and the inner profile 542 of thepositioning recess 54 of the transmission elements 50 correspond inshape to each other and are non-circular.

The constituent elements disclosed in the above embodiments of thepresent invention are illustrative of the present invention only, butshould not be interpreted as restrictive of the scope of the presentinvention. Hence, replacements or variations of other equivalentelements should be covered by the claims of the present invention.

1. An autonomous coverage vacuum cleaner having an edge cleaning headeasy to install and uninstall, comprising: a body; a transmissionelement driven to rotate and disposed at a bottom of the body, thetransmission element having a lower surface, a positioning recessdenting upward from the lower surface, and a fixing hole disposed in thepositioning recess, wherein an inner profile of the positioning recessis non-circular; and an edge cleaning head comprising a body, at least abrush extending from the body, a positioning block disposed on top ofthe body, and a plurality of resilient elements extending upward fromthe positioning block, wherein an outer profile of the positioning blockcorresponds in shape to the inner profile of the positioning recess ofthe transmission element, wherein, under an applied force, the resilientelements deform resiliently, get closer to each other, and engage withfixing holes of the transmission element, respectively, wherein thepositioning block engages with the positioning recess of thetransmission element, such that the transmission element drives the edgecleaning head to rotate.
 2. The autonomous coverage vacuum cleaner ofclaim 1, wherein the outer profile of the positioning block of the edgecleaning head and the inner profile of the positioning recess of thetransmission element are rectangular.
 3. The autonomous coverage vacuumcleaner of claim 1, wherein each of the resilient elements of the edgecleaning head has a body portion extending upward from the positioningblock and a hook portion disposed at an upper end of the body portion,wherein a position-limiting portion is disposed in the fixing hole ofthe transmission element, such that the hook portion of each of theresilient elements is confined to above the position-limiting portion ofthe transmission element when the resilient elements of the edgecleaning head engage with the fixing holes of the transmission element,respectively.
 4. The autonomous coverage vacuum cleaner of claim 3,wherein the hook portion of each of the resilient elements of the edgecleaning head has a curved surface, such that the curved surface abutsagainst the position-limiting portion of the transmission element whilethe resilient element of the edge cleaning head is entering and exitingthe fixing hole of the transmission element.
 5. The autonomous coveragevacuum cleaner of claim 3, wherein the position-limiting portion of thetransmission element has a curved surface, such that the resilientelement of the edge cleaning head abuts against the curved surface ofthe position-limiting portion while entering and exit the fixing hole ofthe transmission element.
 6. The autonomous coverage vacuum cleaner ofclaim 5, wherein the hook portion of each of the resilient elements ofthe edge cleaning head has a curved surface, such that the curvedsurface of the hook portion of each of the resilient elements of theedge cleaning head abuts against the curved surface of theposition-limiting portion of the transmission element while theresilient element of the edge cleaning head is entering and exiting thefixing hole of the transmission element.
 7. The autonomous coveragevacuum cleaner of claim 6, wherein a body of the edge cleaning head hasan upper surface, such that the positioning block extends upward fromthe upper surface, wherein the upper surface of the body of the edgecleaning head abuts against the lower surface of the transmissionelement when the positioning block is engaged with the positioningrecess of the transmission element.
 8. The autonomous coverage vacuumcleaner of claim 7, wherein the body of the edge cleaning head has acentral portion, wherein a plurality of pins extends downward, outward,and obliquely from the central portion, the pins each having one saidbrush, an upper section extending outward from the central portion, anda lower section extending outward from the upper section, wherein agradient of the upper section is larger than a gradient of the lowersection.
 9. The autonomous coverage vacuum cleaner of claim 6, whereinthe body of the edge cleaning head has a central portion, wherein aplurality of pins extends downward, outward, and obliquely from thecentral portion, the pins each having one said brush, an upper sectionextending outward from the central portion, and a lower sectionextending outward from the upper section, wherein a gradient of theupper section is larger than a gradient of the lower section.
 10. Theautonomous coverage vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the body of theedge cleaning head has an upper surface, wherein the positioning blockextends upward from the upper surface, wherein the upper surface of thebody of the edge cleaning head abuts against the lower surface of thetransmission element when the positioning block is engaged with thepositioning recess of the transmission element.
 11. The autonomouscoverage vacuum cleaner of claim 1, wherein the body of the edgecleaning head has a central portion, wherein a plurality of pins extendsdownward, outward, and obliquely from the central portion, the pins eachhaving one said brush, an upper section extending outward from thecentral portion, and a lower section extending outward from the uppersection, wherein a gradient of the upper section is larger than agradient of the lower section.